Were there any other names that were plays on words in The Hunger Games?

Question

To quote wikipedia:

Katniss' name comes from a plant that is more commonly known as Sagittaria, which is a tuber plant usually found in water.[4] The root of this plant can be eaten, as Katniss does in the book. Her father once said: "As long as you can find yourself, you'll never starve." This name also means "belonging to an arrow" in Latin, which may have a connection with Katniss's skill with a bow and arrow. The plant also shares its name with a constellation in the Zodiac called Sagittarius, or "The Archer", which may also reference Katniss's skills in archery.

Peeta is a baker with a name that sounds very much like "Pita bread", depending on how you pronounce it. Primrose (Prim) is also a name of a plant.

Are there any other names that are "puns" or also objects that are related to the character in question?

Answer 1

Would you consider Panem to be a play on words, considering bread is an important part of the story? (Peeta, different loaves representing different Areas, etc.) As well as Panem et Circenses being the theme.

Answer 2

I think Snow was named as a reference to a cold-blooded ruler, while Coin's name indicated that she was "a different side of the same coin"; in essence, no different than Snow.

Answer 3

Whilst not puns, many of the characters have names used in Shakespeare's play:

• Coriolanus
• Cinna
• Enobarbia (from Ahenobarbus)
• Caesar
• Portia
• Flavius

Also the two main characters are referred in the books as "the star crossed lovers" as in Romeo and Juliet; the use of poison in the play and in book 1 has some parallels

Answer 4

Snow
In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes it is revealed that the Snow family moto is "Snow always lands on top". This signifies how their family are both survivors as well as very cunning and resourceful; able to make the best out of any situation.

Trinket
Effie Trinket was into jewellery and similar nic-nacs. She was always adorned with 'trinkets'.

Also, she gave each of her team a golden token or 'trinket', to symbolise them being a team!

Thresh
Thresh was the male tribute from the same district as Rue - they were the gardeners and tended to the trees/crops. See: threshing. Not sure if related, but sounds like a pun to me.

Plutarch
Plutarch was a Greek philosopher and according to Wikipedia, he was "known for his Parallel Lives" (series of books). Sound familiar?

Highbottom
Dean Casca Highbottom spent much of his adult life under the intoxication of 'morphling'. He was even called Dean "High-as-a-kite-Bottom"

Answer 5

This article analyzes many of the names in the book, such as Flickerman, Beetee, and more:

Flickerman

His last name, Flickerman, evokes both the bright (but flickering?) lights of the big city and the filming of the games (a movie is also a flick). In the books he wears a suit decorated with light bulbs.

Beetee  

The name of Beetee, a tribute at the 75th Hunger Games and the tech genius behind many of the rebellion’s coolest moves—such as hijacking the Capitol’s television feed—sounds out the first two letters of BTU, a unit used to measure energy. Sound like a stretch? Well, Beetee teamed up with Wiress to make up “nuts and volts,” volts, of course, being a measurement of electricity.